


Montana

by Jerry_Larchive



Category: Grey's Anatomy
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-10
Updated: 2017-03-16
Packaged: 2018-10-02 10:39:20
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 20,906
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10216184
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jerry_Larchive/pseuds/Jerry_Larchive
Summary: My suggestion for how Japril the Sequel should go.aka A little different take on what happened in Montana





	1. Monday (Day 1)

**Author's Note:**

> Because I can't frickin wait another week :-)  
> But oh was it worth the wait.

“This is stupid.”

“No, it's not”

They stared at the building in front of them.

“Alright, well you can go.”

“I'm not going.”

“We're not married. Its not like who I talk to or don't talk to is any of your business anyway.”

“Yeah, it is my business because we have a job to do and you're not here. And you're not going to be here until you say what you need to say. So go, say it, and it will be over, and we can get back to work.”

She was in her single-minded _machine_ mode and Jackson knew there was no arguing with her. Besides, he grudgingly admitted, she was right. Finally he steeled himself, nodded almost imperceptibly, and cast a quick glance in her direction. It had to be brief though; he needed her strength, but he couldn't afford to let her know that.

As he slowly walked across the icy driveway to the porch, April moved to the right, taking herself far enough away to give him privacy but remaining close enough to provide support, even if the stubborn Jackson didn't want it.

Jackson mounted the steps slowly, still summoning the courage to do what he had longed to do for as long as he could remember.

He knocked, saw the doorbell, and rang it too, for good measure.

After a long moment, he heard heavy footsteps approaching from inside the house. Then he heard the door handle turn and watched as the door swung slowly inwards. Unconsciously, he held his breath. A figure emerged from the dark interior of the building, slowly becoming visible in the doorway, where the porch light could illuminate his features.

Jackson exhaled, then took a deep breath. It was him. No question. His mother had long ago given him a picture of his father. He had memorized every pixel of it, long before anyone knew what a pixel was. Even thirty years later there was no mistaking the man. It was him.

“I'm Jackson Avery. I'm your son.”

He had played this scene over in his head hundreds of times. But it seemed to go differently every single time so he really had no idea what to expect.

The man in the doorway seemed calm enough. In some of Jackson's scenarios, his father had reacted quite demonstrably. He was glad that didn't appear to be the way this would go. In fact, this man was almost too calm. It was almost as though he was expecting Jackson to show up at his door, late at night, in bumfuck Montana. But Jackson knew that couldn't be the case. This guy must just be a cool cowboy customer, he concluded.

Finally the man in the doorway moved. He stuck out his hand.

“Jackson, good to finally meet you. Terence Avery. But you can call me Terry, since I'm pretty sure 'Dad' is out of play.” His words were accompanied by a smile, reassuring Jackson that his father would seek to minimize any awkward drama. That was fine by Jackson except for a little irritation that his father didn't seem to be at all uncomfortable being confronted by the son he had abandoned so long ago.

Jackson hesitated, unsure of whether he wanted to shake his father's hand or not. But in the end, he gave in, and took his father's hand in his. He judged his father's shake to be firm and strong, both good things. Little did he know that his own handshake gave the identical impression.

“Please, come in.” his father beckoned, standing aside to invite Jackson into the warmth of the house.

Again, Jackson hesitated. He had rehearsed over and over again what he had intended to say to this man, and it wasn't at all complimentary. It seemed more fitting that he deliver this in the cold on the porch, rather than in the man's home. Oddly though, try as he might, he couldn't remember how his speech started. In fact, most all of his carefully rehearsed words had picked the most inopportune time to desert him. _The story of my life,_ he ruefully lamented.

So he stepped past the man in the doorway and into the house.

His father lingered in the doorway, peering out into his dimly lit driveway.

“You too, young lady.” he called. “People have been known to freeze to death standing outside in the Montana night.”

Now it was April's turn to be non-plussed. First, the plan Jackson had described to her had immediately gone by the wayside. Now, Jackson's father was drawing her into the picture, a place she wasn't at all thrilled to be, despite her own intense curiosity about the absentee grandfather of her child. 

But she really didn't have much choice did she? She could refuse the offer and stay out in the cold like an idiot until she joined the other victims of the Montana night, or she could join Jackson inside and see how this reunion would play out. She made the obvious choice, making her way across the drive, up the steps, and through the door to find Jackson standing within.

She feared he might be angry at her but instead his expression betrayed his own surprise and confusion. She shrugged her shoulders as though to communicate that she was just going with the flow. Jackson responded with a shrug of his own, confirming to her that his plans had, for the time being at least, gone out the window and that he too, was at the mercy of the fates.

As they exchanged this unspoken communication, Jackson's father closed the door behind them and now stepped past them to lead them toward the interior of the house, where a warm light emanated from a large kitchen situated in the center of the house. Jackson and April, assuming they were meant to follow, did, and moments later they were beckoned to bar stools adjoining a large butcher block table in the center of the room.

Now that she saw him in the full light of the kitchen, April thought she could recognize a lot of Jackson in the man. Not so much in his features, other than his eyes, this was definitely where Jackson got his eyes, but in his build and the way he carried himself. April thought he looked a little like Harrison Ford around the time of the last Indiana Jones.

She thought he must have lived here a long time as he had the same tanned and weathered Marlboro Man look she had seen as they exited the airport that morning.

“Coffee? Tea? Something stronger?” asked Terry Avery. “Water's hot, beer's cold.”

“Nothing for me.” answered Jackson.

“Tea sounds wonderful, if its not too much trouble.” answered April.

“No trouble at all, young lady. I'm afraid we don't have much of a selection. Do you like Huckleberry? I hope so because Huckleberries are a Montana staple. Everywhere you go you get huckleberry this and huckleberry that. Stay in Montana long enough and you'll want to name your children Huckleberry.”

“You know, I think I'm craving Huckleberry.” April answered with a smile. 

Could this man really be Jackson's father, she thought? He certainly had the Avery charm that Jackson could turn on and off at will. But he seemed to completely lack the intensity she had come to associate with the Avery name, thanks to her experiences with Jackson and Catherine.

“Wonderful choice. Huckleberry it is. You're going to fit right in here in Montana. Jackson may have to make his way back to Seattle by himself.”

In her peripheral vision, April saw Jackson's expression suddenly change. While a moment ago he had been looking at April like she was an alien for the way she was responding to his father, now his face had regained the tension it had displayed in the driveway earlier. And his eyes were boring into the back of his father's head.

His father too, had suddenly gone silent and slowed his tea preparation to a crawl.

April looked back and forth between the two, still in that dark at what had so suddenly and drastically changed the room dynamic. Then Jackson clued her in.

“I never said we came from Seattle.” he said quietly.

Terry Avery turned from the stove with a steaming cup of tea, which he brought to April. Jackson's stare followed him across the room. He placed the tea in front of April, who in the moment forgot to say thank you.

Finally, Jackson's father broke his silence to answer his son.

“No, I guess you didn't, did you?”

“So, would you like to explain how you knew that little fact? And what else you might know about me? About our little visit here?” 

Jackson's voice was now clearly infused with anger and suspicion. Did he EXPECT me? Is this why he was so calm when I introduced myself on his porch?

“Son, I think you might be reading more into this than there is to be read.”

Jackson interrupted.

“Don't call me son. You initial instincts about _Dad_ and _Son_ were dead on. We're nowhere near anything that calls for those pronouns.”

Angry Jackson is back, thought April. And perhaps justifiably so.

“Fair enough,” agreed his father amiably. “I know who you are because I work at the Medical Center. I quit surgery some time ago but still have a little General practice that I put time into. And this is Montana, small town Montana to boot. People talk. And you can be sure they're going to talk about a pair of young gun surgeons coming from Seattle to operate on one of our local boys. 

“And how did you know it would be me?”

“Jackson, this is an Avery hospital. And I am still an Avery, even though the family would prefer to forget it. I've treated most everyone and their families at the damn place. You don't think I can get information if I ask for it? And it wouldn't escape notice that one of the Seattle hotshots is named Avery.”

April breathed a sigh of relief. That explanation was entirely plausible. She looked at Jackson and saw that, while he seemed to accept it as well, he'd only dialed back his apparent mistrust, and it was obvious his guard was still up.

Now Jackson's father turned again to April and she saw he had already rebooted his earlier folksy charm.

“Young lady, I need to beg for your forgiveness as I'm afraid I have totally forgotten my manners. Please don't tell my neighbors that I've shamed Montana by not introducing myself and allowing you to do the same, unless of course you want me to continue to address you as 'Young Lady'? I'm Terry. I won't bother with my full and formal name since I think we've already become fast friends.”

“April Kepner. April to my fastest friends. And I don't mind being called _young_ but the _lady_ part makes me think I should have my napkin folded neatly on my lap at all times.”

“Very pleased to meet you, April” he said, shaking the hand that April had offered. “We sure do appreciate Sloan Grey sending their top surgeon to accompany Jackson here.”

Jackson rolled his eyes.

“Trauma surgeon, best trauma surgeon.” he corrected.

April shot him a withering look

Terry Avery continued to speak directly to April.

“Hmmm, pretty sure my source simply said _best surgeon_. Now, how is that huckleberry tea, Miss April? Does Montana have a shot at keeping you?”

Try as he might, Jackson could never find an opening to confront his father about what he'd done. Whenever he tried to broach the subject, his father would ask April something about her family, or warn them to expect a much slower and quieter hospital here than they were used to, or compare the Montana weather to that of Washington.

Jackson blamed April for most of the failure. While initially he'd actually been happy to see her join him in the house, he was now angry that she was here getting in the way. To be fair, Jackson hadn't come all this way to meet this man just so they could swap stories about raising livestock or comparing life in small town America to life in the big city.

_She is just as susceptible to my father's shtick as she is to my mother's_ , Jackson thought, watching helplessly as April beat his father at darts for the second time, prompting Terry to plead “Best three out of five.”

_She is defenseless against Avery manipulation_ , he thought, conveniently forgetting that he was also an Avery.

Finally, Jackson decided to call it a night. Fortunately they were scheduled to be there the whole workweek so he figured he would have another chance to deal with Terry. At he would make sure April was nowhere in the vicinity when that chance arrived.

“OK, time to go. Early start tomorrow.”

Reluctantly, April helped Terry gather up the cups and silverware and put away the snacks he had brought out for them.

_She thinks this is a freaking social visit!_ Jackson steamed as he stood by the kitchen door, sending April signals that she was perhaps pointedly ignoring.

Finally, they were in their rental car, making their way back to their hotel. Jackson drove while April smiled out her window.

“Did you enjoy yourself?” he asked, in a voice that dripped with sarcasm.

April looked briefly over at him then turned again to her window. She hadn't missed the sarcasm, nor all the other hints and clues she'd received throughout the evening as to his displeasure with her.

“Yes, I did. I had a wonderful time. Thanks for asking. I think I may have a new favorite Avery.”

She knew she shouldn't bait him like that but right now he was being the same pain in the ass he'd been since she had taken the interim Chief of General Surgery job. It was a move that Jackson had perceived as yet another betrayal, of Webber, their cause, and especially, himself.

That it occurred at exactly the same time that he learned the whereabouts of his father, and the potential to finally meet and confront him, had only exacerbated the problem.

The hard won goodwill they had slowly built up since the whole unfortunate debacle with the divorce and pregnancy had pretty much vanished in the course of a few days, leaving April questioning whether she should remain living in Jackson's house.

And the strangest aspect of the whole drama, April's increasingly warm relationship with his mother, even as Jackson remained convinced (erroneously) that Catherine was ultimately responsible for Minnick's rise and Webber's fall, had been gasoline on the fire.

Jackson rose to the bait.

“Oh really? I suppose I'm dropped to number three now then?”

“Depends on whether we count Harriet.” April replied. Trap sprung.

“Nice!, Really nice. You know you just spent the evening getting played, don't you? Again! You'd think you'd be tired of being a pawn in Avery games by now.”

April had had enough of this Avery victim crap he'd been spouting.

“The only Avery who keeps trying to play games with me is the one driving this car, Jackson! And I'm getting sick and tired of it.”

“Couldn't you see what he was doing? He wasn't going to let me talk to him about what he did. He used you like a shield against me. And you were happy to oblige.”

“Yes, Jackson. Yes, you are right. He wasn't going to give you a chance. He saw you coming five hundred miles away. He was ready for you. And somehow you were going to force the issue? Now tell me who's naive?”

That shut him up. As much as he hated to admit it, and right now he absolutely hated to admit it, she was right. April or no April, he wasn't going to get the kind of satisfaction he craved out of tonights visit.  _But when then?_ He needed to retreat, regroup, and come up with another plan.

But he couldn't let April off the hook that easily.

“So did you have to make it so easy for him?”

April gave him a frank stare. He had picked a bad night to get into it with her. No mercy for you tonight.

“Your mother is right. You really aren't cut out for this sort of thing. By making it 'easy' for him tonight, I've got him thinking he has an ally in your camp. And if his plan is to keep you out until you stick your tail between your legs and slink back to Seattle then tonight will convince him that you can be handled. That kind of false confidence returns the element of surprise to you. Now quit your whining and figure out how to take advantage of it.”

She knew she had cut him deeply with that. He confirmed it by not making another sound the rest of the way into town and their hotel and refusing to even look her way.

The last straw of the day came when they arrived at their lodging only to find out their rooms had been flooded when a pipe burst. The apologetic night manager indicated that the only thing he had for them was one small cabin lodging that they could share. After ascertaining that this was the only lodging available for a hundred miles, April and Jackson reluctantly agreed to take the cabin.

Exhausted they entered and found, to their astonishment and chagrin, not only was there no pull out couch, there was no couch at all.

“I'll sleep in the car.” offered an exhausted Jackson.

“You'll freeze to death.” argued April. “Lets just share the bed. Its plenty big enough. Just don't don't try any funny business.”

“Funny business? Really? Fat chance of that.”

And with a final glare at each other, they slid into opposite sides of the bed and tried their best to hug the edge. It was the first time since their divorce that they shared a bed. But it was nothing at all like their previous sharings.

 


	2. Tuesday (Day 2)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jackson must put aside his personal quest to confront his father for now as it's time for he and April to get to work.  
> Today they meet their Big Sky team, the patient, and his family.

Jackson awoke with a start. Since the room was still dark, and there was no alarm, he knew it wasn't time to get up, but he had no idea what time it was. He checked for a clock on the nightstand and then remembered, their cabin accommodation hadn't come with a clock either. _Don't they like to keep track of time in this state?_ So he reached out and felt for his watch. Two-seventeen. Crap, they had a busy day ahead of them with meeting their surgical team, meeting the patient, and finalizing the surgical plan. And it looked like he would be doing it all on almost no sleep.

Jackson looked at the figure next to him in the bed, bundled up in all the blankets he had shed almost as soon as he hit the bed. Recognizable only by the small patch of red hair that splayed across her pillow, he saw that both of them had moved toward each other in the few hours they had been in bed.

Jackson had no illusions of anything intentional on April's part in this. As many hotel and motel beds did, this one sagged in the middle. Anyone desiring to sleep on it's edge would have their work cut out for them to stay there. Figures, he thought, because staying as far away from each other as possible seemed to be their one common goal. How the hell did that happen?, he asked himself. But he had to acknowledge that he was the primary mover in bringing about the current state of affairs.

They had been getting along so well. The Tinder thing was a bit of bump as he found himself very uncomfortable with the thought of April with another guy. He told himself that was only because it would likely lead to April and Harriet moving out, a prospect that terrified him. But he knew he was lying to himself. It wasn't all about Harriet. It was also about April. And him. And feelings for her that he didn't even know how to live with, much less express.

When she revealed her own discomfort with the whole dating thing he had been relieved and elated. He had even gone so far as to coach and prod her to 'go dippin”, under the guise of wanting what's best for her. Except it had been a false front, hadn't it? He had only been able to put on that show because he was confident that the dating experiment was doomed. At least for now. He knew it was a temporary reprieve but he was glad to have it. Because deep down he believed he knew what was best for her. And those feelings he kept trying to suppress, they were pretty unanimous about what was best for him.

But then the perfect storm hit. Not a meteorological storm that flipped buses like they'd had years ago, but an emotional one, that certainly flipped Jackson. It had begun with the hiring of Minnick and Richard being pushed aside. Initially, this had been a positive event in his relationship with April as, out of loyalty to Webber, they joined forces to lead a rebellion to protect Richard and get rid of Minnick. It had felt good to be by her side fighting for a noble cause. They had been Han and Leia, and that had turned out well, at least until _The Force Awakens_. Another step in the right direction.

But how quickly it went from being a step forward to two steps back, then ten, then even more. Meredith was suspended and when April was offered her job on an interim basis, and accepted, a fracture was torn through the cause and their relationship.

At first Jackson just thought Bailey had made a shrewd strategic move to divide the opposition. Then he found out from Webber himself that his mother was behind the whole Minnick thing to begin with. Well, he admitted, Webber hadn't actually said that his mother was behind it. But Jackson couldn't imagine a situation where his mother could take a side and not be the one orchestrating its moves.

The evidence also fit nicely into his growing concern about the curious little relationship that had developed between Catherine and April. Ever since Harriet was born, his mother and April had been growing closer and closer. Where Jackson groaned inwardly when he saw Catherine walk into the hospital, April would be genuinely happy to see her. He knew that April had earned Catherine's respect when she had delivered Harriet without anesthesia on Meredith's kitchen table, and hours later, demonstrated a willingness to stand up to her bullying. Jackson had been a bit shocked when he overheard his mother telling Webber that April had grown and people around the hospital should take notice of it.

But the ever-suspicious Jackson thought he knew the real reason for Catherine drawing April into her orbit; so she could keep a closer grip on him. Although she couldn't know Jackson had feelings for April still, she did know that April and Harriet lived with him. By recruiting April, Catherine could now keep tabs on Jackson both at home and at work. It was through this lens that Jackson began to see the world and it had disastrous consequences for his relationship with April.

In Jackson's view, his mother had just found another way to exploit April by manipulating her into betraying the cause. That it meant betraying him as well apparently didn't concern Catherine Avery.

The third and final emotional front came when Jackson realized he would finally have a chance to meet and confront his father. It had started with a call from a small regional hospital in Montana. A surgeon there was dealing with a young patient with very large throat tumor. He felt he was out of his league for something this complex and wondered if Jackson was available to come to Montana for a consult.

After discussing some of the specifics, Jackson agreed to think about it and get back to him the next day. Before they hung up though, Jackson inquired as to how the doctor had thought to call him. Even Jackson's healthy ego couldn't account for his reputation reaching the wilds of Montana. The surgeon replied that his hospital was affiliated with the Harper Avery foundation and he had made an inquiry there that had led to Jackson.

“I'm assuming that has something to do with the fact that your name is Avery.” said the doctor from Montana.

“It actually has everything to do with the fact that I am the best plastics surgeon this side of the Mississippi.”

Jackson was used to fighting the assumptions that came with being an Avery. But he still hated having to do it.

“Then you're the guy I'm looking for.” answered the surgeon from Montana.

When he received the scans he realized the doctor from Montana had understated the severity of the case. This would be an order of magnitude from anything he had done before, including the hail mary he had pulled off to give a Syrian boy a new set of hands. In that case, failure had meant amputation. In this one, it would mean the death of the patient.

While he mulled over the decision to take the case, he couldn't help but wonder who had recommended him, and why. He couldn't think of anyone at the Foundation that would immediately think of him for this. His profile within Harper Avery he had intentionally kept low. If anything, he shared Meredith and Arizona's view that the Foundation was a shaky partner at best, and the enemy at worst. His mother hadn't given him any reason to think differently. He also thought it very odd that Harper Avery had anything to do with a small regional hospital in Montana.

His curiosity in full bloom, Jackson began to do a little research. Big Sky Medical Center was located in the ski town of Big Sky. And in perusing their website he was able to confirm their affiliation with the Foundation.

How bizarre, he thought. He couldn't think of another HAF affiliated hospital of this type. Usually Harper Avery concentrated their resources on higher profile, more bang for the buck, projects.

He opened BSMC's directory page to see if he recognized any of the physicians names there. No sooner had the page loaded than Jackson froze. The listing was alphabetical. The third name from the top, after Adams, David, and Atherton, Riley, was **Avery, Terence**.

The next few days saw Jackson an emotional wreck. With no one to confide in and turn to, he instead turned on everyone who offered an opposing opinion. This list included Ben and the other residents, Meredith, when she returned with Minnick still in place, his mother certainly, and even Webber, who disappointed him by seeming willing to give up the fight. But the primary target of his emotional violence was April.

He accused her of being an opportunist, a traitor, a job thief, and being a pawn of Catherine Avery's manipulation. Caught by surprise, April had been unable to reason with him and finally, having had enough, turned it back on him by identifying his own prejudice and lack of regard for her as being the problem.

The tension between them had become palpable to everyone in their vicinity and had reached the point that April was considering moving out with Harriet. To make matters worse, his mother was now encouraging April to become involved with the Foundation, even as she very publicly told an OR full of his colleagues that Jackson didn't have what it takes to run HAF.

While Catherine was making plans to bring April to Chicago to launch her HAF involvement, and see _Hamilton_ , Jackson was making plans of his own. Now that he knew where his father was, and he had the perfect pretense for going there, he was intent on meeting and confronting the man who had abandoned him as a child, in his view somehow setting the stage for everyone else he'd ever loved doing the same.

And that's how he had found himself on a flight from SEATAC to Bozeman, MT yesterday morning. What he hadn't planned on was sitting next to his ex-wife on that flight.

His out-of-state consult had to be approved by Bailey, of course. This sort of thing had always been a formality in the past. But this time, he was summoned to meet with her.

“So, I'll be there for five days. The second day will be to map out the surgery with the team and the patient. The third, we'll perform the surgery. The fourth, I'll be monitoring for post-op problems. And then traveling home again on the fifth.”

“And prognosis for the surgery?”

“Challenging, no question, but in looking at the scans I'm confident an EBR is the right approach.”

“And has any of the local team you'll be working with ever been involved with an en bloc resection on a tumor like this?”

“No.”

Bailey thought more a moment.

“I'll approve it with one condition.”

“Which is?”

“We send another surgeon with you who has experience with an EBR.”

Jackson didn't like that idea at all. It really complicated his plans to confront his father.

“Who?”

“I'll figure that out and let you know.”

As much as he liked and admired, Bailey, she was sure screwing up his life right now.

He had a stronger verb for what she was doing to him when, the night before his departure, he walked into the house to find April handing Harriet to his mother and Webber, along with all her baby paraphernalia and a weeks supply of breast milk in a little cooler.

“So, Montana, huh? What's our plan?” asked April with exaggerated sweetness.

He looked at his mother and knew that the smile on her face wasn't just because she was holding her granddaughter.

Jackson yawned. Willing himself to banish any further thinking from his head, he closed his eyes and tried to get back to sleep.

One last conversation had to be played back first though. As they were leaving his father's house, Terence had held him back.

“Jackson, I know there are things we need to say to each other. Tonights just not the right time for it. Lets talk again tomorrow.”

Jackson had nodded.

“Where? When?”

“I'll see you at the hospital and we can figure something out.”

Jackson nodded again and resumed following April to the car. He didn't mention it to her though. Gotta keep some damn things to myself, he told himself.

 

When the alarm that April had set on her phone went off, neither of them was too quick to react. Jackson lamented his deprived sleep. April was just too warm and comfortable wrapped in every bit of blanket on the bed.

Jackson, despite always being a furnace unto himself, found his exposed skin chilled by the cold Montana morning. He looked over at the pile of blankets beside him that he assumed April was at the heart of.

“Comforting to know that some things never change. I see you're still a blanket hog.”

There was momentary pause as April fought her way to the surface and peeked out from under the pile.

“You never wanted blankets on you anyway.”

“Not in our place, which you always kept heated on high. This is a cabin in the snowy woods and its freezing in here.”

“Maybe you should get up and build a fire or turn on the furnace or something similarly mountain manly.”

“Oh, OK, and meanwhile you'll just lay there warm and cozy in every blanket in the place.”

“The best plan you've had in years, Avery.”

“Uh-huh” Jackson knew resistance was futile. In spite of himself, he smiled, a bittersweet reaction to an exchange that could have come from a different time in their lives.

Getting out of bed, he searched in vain for a thermostat. Finally, he gave in and set himself to make a fire in the fireplace. He had just managed to get a fire going when he spotted the heating unit under the window.

With both the heater going and the fire crackling, the cabin soon warmed up enough to coax April out from her cocoon and they got themselves dressed and ready for the trip to the hospital.

April left him to himself on the drive in to the medical center. As she reflected on the previous night she regretted hitting him in a still fresh wound. But he really deserved it, ambushing her with this whole father thing when they arrived in Big Sky and then acting like a total jerk at his father's place. She hoped they would be able to put it past them and get the job done so she could go home and decide her next move.

When they arrived at BSMC, they learned that the cafeteria was only open Wednesday to Saturday, so their idea to grab breakfast here rather than in town wasn't going to work out too well. April could skip breakfast but for Jackson, especially a Jackson who hadn't slept well, this was not a good start to the day.

Ushered into a conference room, they were soon joined by Doctor Brock Lanier, the surgeon that had called Jackson in the first place.

“Welcome to BSMC.” he said, holding out his hand. “I'm Doctor Lanier. Please call me Brock. Or even Griz. I believe we've spoken on the phone a few times.” He directed the last statement to Jackson.

Jackson shook his hand.

“Griz?” he asked.

Lanier laughed. “Long story but the short version is that I went to the University of Montana up in Missoula.”

Jackson obviously wasn't making the connection.

Lanier continued “We're the Grizzlies. The Montana Grizzlies. I'm kind of a fan-atic about them so the staff kind of took to calling me Griz. I don't mind and it makes Dave Adams, in Gerontology, happy. For obvious reasons.”

Whatever those obvious reasons were neither Jackson nor April seemed to pick up on them. Lanier, recognizing this, patiently explained.

“Adams... Grizzly Adams. The old TV show.”

April laughed and said “Of course, Grizzly Adams.”

Jackson just smiled. Apparently whatever Grizzly Adams was, it was more popular in Moline, OH than Boston, Mass.

Anxious to change the subject, he turned to introduce Lanier to April.

“This is my colleague, Doctor ...”

Griz Lanier cut him off.

“Doctor Kepner. Please to meet you. May I call you April?”

How the hell did everyone here know so much about them already, wondered Jackson, as April and Lanier shook hands.

Introductions aside, the three surgeons sat down to discuss the schedule for the week, confirming the plan Jackson had earlier sketched for Bailey. They were just about to call for the rest of the surgical team to join them when Jackson's stomach growled loudly.

“Uh-oh, sounds like you might have come up a little short on the most important meal of the day.” Lanier scolded.

April explained about the cafeteria.

“Oh, yeah. Sorry, I would have warned you except no one eats in the cafeteria anyway. In fact, you probably caught a break that its closed. The best place for breakfast in my opinion is the Caliber Coffee joint, right on Snowy Mountain, just off Big Pine, leaving downtown toward the lifts. The coffee is great and the quiche is pretty awesome.”

“Well, I don't want to throw off the schedule just to feed my face.” Jackson answered, though coffee and quiche actually sounded pretty great to him.

“Schedule, Schmedule.” replied Lanier. “Remember, Jackson, this is Montana. We operate at a different tempo here. Get it? We OPERATE.”

Lanier seemed to get a real charge out of his lame joke. Jackson just forced a smile while April gave the effort a little courtesy laugh.

Assured by Lanier that they could go eat and still be back in plenty of time to meet the team before meeting the patient and his family, Jackson and April made their way to Caliber Coffee Inc.

“Well, Griz sure called the coffee. Its fantastic.” April remarked, holding her cup under her nose between sips so she could ingest every bit of its goodness.

Jackson sniffed, “Griz. What have we walked into here? Are we going to anesthetize the patient or have him bite on an arrow?”

April rolled her eyes and gave Jackson her 'get over yourself' look. “Why don't you try to keep an open mind for once instead of passing judgment on everything before you've even seen it”

Jackson looked at her as he chewed his last bite of quiche.

“I'm not..”

But her expression told him he'd better just leave it alone and quit while he was behind.

“Besides, can you believe how beautiful it is here? No wonder your father chose to settle here.”

No sooner were the words out of her mouth than she regretted them. Open mouth, insert foot.

“Jackson, I'm sorry. That was a stupid thing to say.”

Jackson looked at her and shook his head. Jackson was well aware of April's history of speaking first and thinking later. To her credit, she did apologize as soon as she said it. Still, it reminded him that his father was nearby, and there was a lot of unfinished business between them.

When they got back to the hospital, Lanier met them and gave them a little tour. Tiny compared to GSMH, they got to tour the entire hospital in less than 30 mins. After the tour was over they repaired again to the conference room they had occupied earlier and Griz paged the surgical team Jackson would be leading the next day.

The team assembled and introductions were made. Everyone seemed competent and professional though Jackson doubted any of them had ever been involved in a surgery as difficult as this one. Together, Jackson and April walked them through the procedure, pointing out the risks and any particularly difficult segments. No matter what might be happening in their personal lives, they were still a precision machine when it came to their jobs. Totally unrehearsed, each knew when to speak and when to yield to the other. They came across as expert and confident, which in turn imbued their larger team with confidence.

When the time came for questions, there were none, so Jackson adjourned the meeting, advising all to get a good nights sleep in preparation for the grueling day ahead.

Lanier took his leave to go eat his lunch and catch up on a few patients. Jackson and April, having just eaten a large, late breakfast, decided to remain in the conference room to catch up on their email and voicemail until Lanier came and fetched them for the one o'clock meeting with the patient and his family.

“Your mother says Harriet is doing great.” April told Jackson.

“I can't believe you left Harriet with her and Webber.” Jackson answered. “It's like leaving a lamb with a wolf.”

April rolled her eyes and looked heavenward. “Oh please, Jackson, Catherine is not going to eat her. As soon as they found out I was coming with you she asked if they could take her. She's Harriet's granma. She's supposed to do this stuff.”

“She's the one who sent you here with me, don't you get that?”

“Oh stop. Just stop! Your paranoia is getting really old. You imagine that your mother is behind every curtain hatching plots against you. I told you on the plane, I was chosen because I've done this procedure several times.”

“Really? Several?” Jackson was clearly doubtful.

“Yes, several. I told you we were doing interesting stuff in Jordan.”

Jackson still winced at every mention of Jordan.

“Well good, if bombs start dropping during surgery tomorrow you'll know just what to do.”

April shook her head and, this time at least, kept herself from blurting out what was on the tip of her tongue.

 

At 12:55 Lanier reappeared in the conference room door.

“Time to go meet the patient. He's up on two.”

They followed him to the elevator and up to the second floor. This is the floor, Jackson remembered from the tour, that housed the OR, Recovery, and ICU. The corridor was much darker than back home he noted. Probably because there were no windows between the patients rooms and corridor. He preferred the glassy openness of Grey Sloan.

The door marked 211A was closed when they reached it so Lanier gave it a perfunctory double tap before pushing it open and entering. Jackson and April followed behind. The first thing Jackson saw as his eyes swept the room was a young man in the bed. As his eyes continued to sweep he saw a woman, probably in her fifties, sitting in a chair beside the bed and holding tightly to the young mans hand. And standing behind her, with his hand on her shoulder, he saw a man.

Jackson stopped so abruptly that poor April walked right into his back before staggering backwards and barely recovering her balance to avoid falling. She was about to say something to him when her eyes too fell upon the gentleman behind the woman and she understood why Jackson had stopped so suddenly.

“Hello Jackson, April. I'd like to introduce you to my wife, Josie, and my son, Dylan.” said Terry Avery as calmly as ever.

Lanier looked a little surprised.

“Terry, you know our guests from Seattle? Oh, wait, of course, you're both Averys. You're probably related.”

The silence that greeted his statement was deafening.

After a moment, Terry Avery replied to his colleague.

“Distantly.” he said.

The woman he had introduced as Josie stood up and came to Jackson, who had remained rooted and silent right where he had stopped. She stood in front of him and looked up at him and April could see her eyes were moist.

“It is so good to finally meet you.” she said, her voice thick with emotion. Then she threw her arms around Jackson and hugged him for all she was worth. “Thank you so much for coming to save our son.” she whispered into his chest.

Jackson seemed utterly paralyzed. His arms pinned to his sides by her hug, he could only look helplessly about him, trying to find an anchor to stop the room from its crazy spinning. He found it finally in April.

Fortunately for Jackson, he had a companion for whom traumatic was a way of life. Hardly missing a beat, April stuck out her hand toward the woman. “Dr April Kepner. I'm so pleased to meet you.”

If the idea was to free Jackson from Josies embrace, it failed, as instead the woman looped her arm around April's thin frame and drew her into the group hug she had created at the foot of the bed.

“Oh, April, I've been dying to meet you too.” the woman cried.

Jackson and April exchanged glances across the short distance now between them, Neither of them had expected anything like this. It was their patient that saved them.

“Mom, please let the nice doctors go.” Dylan begged her from his hospital bed. “Dad, make her stop. Please!”

In response, Terry stepped forward and touched his wife on the shoulder.

“Come on, darlin, The poor doctors are going to need those arms of theirs to fix our boy tomorrow. Turn em loose and let them meet their patient.”

“She's usually not like this but this is a bit of an emotional time for us.” he said quietly to the three surgeons.

“She's always like this.” disagreed Dylan

“Now you hush.” Josie scolded her son. “Can't blame me for getting a little excited after all these years.”

There are so many things wrong about this, Jackson thought. For one thing, his father was apparently married. For another he had a son, wait, check that, another son. Which meant that Jackson had a brother. A brother he was going to do a very risky procedure on tomorrow morning. And then you also have his father's wife talking like she'd been aware of Jackson all his life. And April too! How the hell could that be? Oh boy did his father have some explaining to do.

He looked at April and saw her face plastered with that nervous sort of smile she had when things got especially crazy around her. Unsure of how much help he had there, Jackson decided he'd better forge on as best he could until he could figure out some kind of plan.

“Doctor Avery.” he said as he extended a hand to his father, along with a look that said clearly that they needed to talk.”

“Doctor Avery.” his father replied, shaking his hand and maintaining a serene expression as though all was right in the world.

April was relieved when Jackson immediately shifted back into surgeon mode and began describing the procedure to Dylan and his parents just as if he had just met them for the first time. She knew this would allow him to compartmentalize the turmoil he must surely be feeling and avoid a reaction that could have proven catastrophic. She followed his lead and, just as with the staff earlier, they effectively walked them through what they should expect tomorrow and beyond.

“And I don't want to minimize the risks, they are quite high, but I believe they are manageable with the team we have and am confident of a good outcome.” Jackson concluded. “Any more questions?”

“Will there be much scarring” asked the boys mother.

April stepped up to answer, “Doctor Avery is an outstanding surgeon and will do everything he can to minimize any scarring. But let me show you where we'll be making the incisions so...”

He had to hand it to her, thought Jackson, April had a great feel for talking to the patients and reassuring them, no matter how grim the situation.

He turned to his father. “Dr Avery, a word please?”

April glanced at him, her expression inquiring if he needed her. He gave her a slight shake of his head to indicate that he would be OK on his own. He hoped he wasn't wrong. He walked out of the room, followed by his father.

“Are you freakin out of your crazy ass mind?” he demanded when they were out of earshot.

Terry Avery opened his mouth to reply but before he could...

“Your son is the patient? Your son! I find out I have a brother the night before I have to operate on his frickin big ass throat tumor. What the fuck were you thinking? How in the world could you think it was a good idea to bring me here to do this surgery?”

Swearing was not one of Jackson's common vices but when he was angry or upset, he could employ some choice words.

Again Terry Avery opened his mouth and again, Jackson cut him off.

“And you're married! Didn't occur to you to mention any of this last night, instead of say, hog futures or huckleberries? After abandoning me all those years ago you really think this was the best way for us to get reacquainted?”

This time Terry remained silent. A tense moment passed.

“Well?” inquired Jackson, suddenly aware his hands were balled into fists.

Terry put up his hands. “I know this is all pretty crazy for you right now but if you'll let me explain.”

“Can't wait to hear this.” Jackson replied icily, “Explain away.”

Terry Avery took a deep breath.

“I didn't tell you anything last night because I was afraid. I was afraid that if I did, you'd turn around and go back to Seattle and my son,” he choked and swallowed hard. For the first time Jackson was seeing Terence Avery's calm crack and fall away in pieces. “my son die. I'd already lost you, and to lose Dylan too...”

Jackson saw the fear in his father's eyes.

“I think you understand that, maybe more than anyone else, after Samuel.”

And Jackson was rocked to his very core.

The two men faced each other in the hospital corridor, breathing ragged, faces contorted by emotions barely controlled. Neither could seem to find the next words to say.

April appeared at the door to Dylans room, peering down the corridor, trying, as discreetly as possible to determine if it was safe step out into the corridor. Once again, April became Jackson's port in the storm.

Jackson couldn't fathom how his father had known about Samuel but if his goal had been to strike at Jackson's soul, he had succeeded. When he saw April appear down the hall his first instinct was to protect her. No, he thought, April shouldn't have to go through any of that again, not now, not here.

“We're done here, for now.” he told his father quietly.

“Jackson, I'm s...” Terry Avery began.

“For now.” Jackson repeated, and stalked past his stricken father toward the elevator, April falling silently in behind him.

Neither spoke until they had exited the building and made their way across the parking lot to their rental car. But instead of unlocking the doors, Jackson just rested his forehead on the arm he laid across the roof of the car. April looked across the car's roof at him, forcing herself to remain silent in the face of the million questions that rattled around in her head.

Finally, Jackson spoke. “This is certainly turning into a memorable trip.”

April was relieved. Humor was one of Jackson's healthiest coping mechanisms, she knew, so this told her he was still in the game.

“You think?” April replied, doing her best to feed the mechanism herself.

“On the plus side, I now have a new stepmother and brother, provided I don't kill him tomorrow.”

“On the negative side, your Christmas gift list just doubled.”

“Provided I don't kill him tomorrow.”

“Can't think why you'd be distracted.”

“Right? What the fuck were they thinking?”

“They?”

“Terry, Josie, and whoever the hell got me sent here.” He didn't say anything about the things Terry couldn't possibly know but did. Where was he getting this information?

April nodded thoughtfully. Then she looked at Jackson carefully. “You OK?”

Jackson returned her gaze. “Yeah, I think so. At least I will be. Unless of course we get into the OR tomorrow and the anesthesiologist is my Uncle Norbert.”

“Your Uncle Norbert is a dentist in Pittsburgh.”

“We've fallen through the looking glass my dear. Anything's possible here.”

“Nice literary reference, Avery.”

“Thank you. Quite proud of that one actually. You hungry yet?”

“Yes. I think we passed a pizza place in town this morning.”

April was a pizzaholic.

“Pizza it is.” agreed Jackson, unlocking the car doors.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for hangin in there through a looonnng chapter with a whole lot of setup to it.  
> I apologize for the lack of economy and will try to do better with the rest of them.  
> Ideally, I'd like to wrap my version up before JTS airs on Thursday but inconveniences like work and sleep may make it impossible.


	3. Wednesday (Day 3)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Time to do what they came for. The badass surgical team takes on a bigass tumor.

This time it was April that found herself awake before the alarm went off. Unlike Jackson's abrupt early awakening the previous morning, April's had been a slow, gentle journey to consciousness. The dim light that lit the room told her it must be close to their wakeup time. She wasn't necessarily anxious to verify that though.

Early morning was her favorite time of the day, yet another thing in which she was completely the opposite of Jackson. She assumed it was her farmer's daughter upbringing, which she was in no hurry to disassociate herself from, and the conflicts it may have created with Jackson during their marriage had usually been resolved with amazing sex. That was another thing she had liked best first thing in the morning. He hadn't objected to that too strenuously so April had pretty much had her way with that issue.

Still somewhere between sleep and wide awake, she looked at him asleep next to her in the bed, much more next to her than they had begun the night, and idly considered reaching out to him, and seeing if she still had the ability to rouse and arouse him as she once used to.

_Oh no you don't, don't even think about it_ , she chided herself as she became more fully awake. That would be quite the last straw to pile on him right now wouldn't it. His head would frickin explode. The little wickedness in April, that ironically only Jackson was aware of, suggested it might only sweeten the pot, but she hushed that voice and kept her hands to herself.

Instead she reflected on the previous night. They had found some fabulous pizza, so good in fact that April thought she might want to live here one day. With outstanding coffee and great pizza, Big Sky met all her requirements for the staples of life. And the best part of it had been the relatively pleasant experience of eating it together.

If you had asked her yesterday if she thought she'd ever enjoy a 'dinner date' with Jackson again, she would have laughed in your face. But eating pizza with him had actually been kinda.... fun. They had briefly debated the wisdom of ordering a pitcher of beer on the night before such a complex procedure but decided it might actually help their mental state in light of the crazy revelations of the day.

And while April had worried that Jackson might have an emotional, and possibly mental, breakdown under this stress, he actually seemed to be having the opposite reaction. Instead of bemoaning the state of affairs, he spent the time amusingly pointing out the ridiculousness of their situation.

“Do you suppose when we open him up we'll find any more surprise siblings?” he asked as he took a bite of pizza. April, who had been sipping from her beer at the time, accidentally aspirated some as she laughed.

“Careful,” Jackson had said as she coughed and sputtered, “if you need surgery we'll have to call the Foundation to send another unknown relative with a mysterious past to perform it.”

“Stop!” April begged as her laughing brought on a new fit of coughing.

And so it had gone. Jackson was his old charming Jackson self and for the first time in forever, April found herself relaxing and enjoying being with him. And, best of all, the mood between them persisted all through dinner and their return to their cabin.

It was cold again when they walked in, so April moved to go turn on the heater.

“Wait,” called Jackson, “How about I make a fire instead? It seems like the Montana thing to do. You know, when in Rome...”

“Do you actually know how to make a fire?” asked April doubtfully. Jackson's house was equipped with a very large gas fireplace that could be started with the flick of a switch.

Jackson clutched at his chest. “Ouch, right in my macho man manliness. Yes, I know how to make a fire. I did it this morning if you'll remember correctly. If I hadn't, you'd still be in that bed, buried in blankets, and not even know you have an ex-brother-in-law.”

“Hmm, I mostly remember you finally found the heater but I guess I do have some recollection of a nice little fire.”

“Well, hold onto your hat, little lady, because I'm about to warm your socks off with a fire that will, uh, knock your socks off.” A rare moment when Jackson's tongue outran his brain.

“Smooth as always, Avery” answered a bemused April. Jackson is in rare form tonight, she thought. The elevation must be making him lightheaded. She left him to try his hand at fire starting and went into the bathroom to change into her pajamas.

True to his word, by the time she emerged Jackson had coaxed a lively little flame in the fireplace and had begun adding larger pieces of fuel. April gave him a very formal round of applause as he bowed before his masterpiece.

“You're sure we won't be asphyxiated overnight?”

“Well, mostly sure. It started to get a little smoky but then I opened the damper, or the flue, or whatever the hell it is that lets the smoke out and that seemed to work.”

“OK. I must say, I'm impressed.”

“Then you are embarrassingly easy to impress.” Jackson replied.

“Obviously. I married you didn't I?”

It took a half second for April to comprehend what she had just said. “Ungh,” a small strangled sound escaped her, almost as if she had been punched in the gut. Her eyes widened and flew to Jackson's.

Jackson stood before the fireplace, his smile frozen on his face. Then he turned and reached down for more wood, though the fire was already roaring. “Yeah, well...yeah.” he said to the woodpile.

Mortified, April wished she could crawl into a hole and disappear. How could she have been so stupid? And right when things were going so well.

“Jackson....” it was a plea.

He glanced in her direction, his eyes hooded now.

“No, its fine. You always did have a hairtrigger comeback mechanism.”

She recognized his hurt. Twice in one day she had unintentionally rubbed salt into old wounds. She nervously bit her lower lip as she searched in vain for words to make it better.

_The lip thing._ Jackson had a visceral reaction whenever April invoked this particular habit. The reaction varied depending on the context. Like now for instance, when she was doing it because she was upset, all Jackson wanted to do was go to her and hold her until her world was right again. In another context, that lip would inspire an entirely different reaction. He found it irresistibly sexy and an inspiration to want to rock her world, not right it.

But in their current reality, neither was an option, though that didn't stop him from feeling it. Still, he would do what he could.

“April, really, its OK. It was funny even.”

April was grateful to be let off the hook, though she had seen the pain. “OK.” she said simply and sat in one of the chairs in front of the fire.

Jackson took the other.

After a long minute of silence, she said, “You know, I have the oddest urge to take off my socks.”

It was Jackson's turn to laugh and just like that, they were past it.

They spent the next hour just... being. There was a smattering of conversation but nothing too memorable or lengthy. Mostly there was silence, and the crackling of the fire, and the light it cast flickering across the cabin and its inhabitants, and two people rediscovering how to comfortably occupy adjoining space.

Finally, the flames began to die. April stretched and yawned and made to get up from her chair.

Jackson stopped her. “April, we need to talk.”

She looked at him but in the dim light of the dying fire she couldn't make out his expression. She usually didn't like conversations that started this way. “OK.”

“First, I know I've been an ass lately, especially to you. I never should have accused you like I did and I should have had your back instead of treating you like I did.”

“I'm sorry too. I should have come to you about the interim thing.”

“Even so, letting you sit by yourself in that cafeteria on that first day was inexcusable. You were right. I do know you and I should have done better.”

“OK, apology accepted.”

“There's more.”

“OK.”

“I also know I've been way overboard on the whole thing with my mother. I know you're not a minion, that you have a brain. It's just she's always spinning so many webs, it's hard not to suspect ulterior motives for everything she does.”

“Jackson, I know. I remember the whole custody thing, believe me. But I also remember how wonderful she was to us with Samuel. And its obvious how much she loves you and Harriet. I don't know. Maybe I understand her better now that I'm a mother myself. And maybe I am being naive but I genuinely think we're building a relationship now. And it could be really good, for me and for Harriet and maybe even for you.”

“I get that. I really do. Just be careful, OK. Especially if she draws you into the whole Foundation thing.”

“Why do you say that?”

Jackson turned in his chair to face her and his expression was serious.

“Its kind of weird. Most of my life she almost seemed to want to keep me at arms length from Harper Avery. My grandfather was always trying to reel me in to Boston but things kept opening up to allow me to escape his traps. I always had the feeling that my mom was the one making that happen. But she built the damn thing, even though she married into the Avery name, so how would that make sense?”

April wasn't quite making the connection. “What does that have to do with me?”

“It's just that I have this vague feeling that there's a whole lot going on with the Foundation that we don't know about. And it may be more paranoia on my part, but I think my mom is in the thick of it. So just be careful.”

April was jarred from her reverie when her phone alarm began insistently buzzing. As she reached to turn it off, she felt the bed shift as Jackson awoke from his slumber. The alarm silenced, she rolled back over and found herself looking at those eyes of his from just a foot away. It had been an awful long time since they had faced each other at this range, and in a bed yet, and that little voice was again telling her that she wanted it, him, so badly.

“Uh... nope, uh-uh, time to get up.” April hastily threw off the covers and jumped out of bed, fleeing into the bathroom, while a half asleep Jackson watched her go with a bemused expression on his face.

This time they were smart and made their stop at Caliber on their way to the hospital. The place was packed but the coffee and food was worth waiting for.

This morning, Jackson was all business and he had his game face on. They didn't talk much, and what was said was all about the surgery ahead of them. It had to be this way. Surgery in the neck and throat was always a tricky thing. All of the body's major life sustaining systems came together in that narrow channel. Cut off the airway and the respiratory system fails. Injure the vertebrae and you could induce paralysis or other nerve damage. Nick an artery and the patient could bleed out in a hurry. Somehow Jackson and April would have to resect a very large tumor that had managed to entwine itself around every structure in the throat. They would have to cut it out from around those structures without damaging them. And they would have to do it in a very confined space. This was why Griz Lanier had called in the cavalry. And he couldn't have found a better team.

Jackson Avery was an artist. With the techniques imparted to him by Mark Sloan he was singularly well equipped for the task. Jackson had the unique ability to visualize what needed to be done and the skills to do it. Especially important in this case, he had developed the ability to separate himself from other concerns and apply himself fully to the patient on the table.

If Jackson was an artist, April Kepner was a mechanic. As a trauma surgeon she was used to solving problems and putting things back together when other surgeons couldn't even see the pieces. Her tours overseas had served her well as few surgeons would ever see what she had already experienced in her young career. Nothing they would see today would throw her off her game.

Arriving at the hospital, their first stop was to see their patient. They found Dylan and his mother there, but Terence Avery was absent at the moment. Dylan seemed in good spirits. Josie was understandably nervous and resisted whenever Dylan tried to retrieve his hand from her maternal grip.

Jackson said little, letting April do most of the talking to answer any final questions and offer words of encouragement to both.

Exiting the room they encountered Jackson's father waiting in the hallway.

“Jackson, I'd like to scrub in.”

“Absolutely not.” replied Jackson immediately. “It's bad enough I'm operating on my own brother. No way you are coming anywhere near my OR.”

Terry seemed about to plead his case but Jackson cut him off.

“Do you want me to kill him? Do you? All you'd be is a distraction. Let us do our jobs. You do yours. Stay with your wife. She's going to need you today. And maybe more tomorrow.”

That had stilled Terry Avery. He nodded sadly and stepped past them into Dylan's room. April couldn't help but wonder if some little bit of that had been intended for her. She knew Jackson hadn't been able to forgive her for leaving him and going to Jordan when he needed her. Neither of them had. Some mistakes you pay for the rest of your life.

Jackson and April made their way to the doctors lounge where they'd wait until Dylan was prepped and ready for them. She searched Jackson's face as they walked, trying to see if the brief encounter with his father had affected him. Not even April could tell for sure.

  
  


Finally, it was time. They met Lanier in the scrub room and once again the three surgeons reviewed the surgical plan. As they entered the OR, where a sedated Dylan lay on the operating table, April felt they were as ready as they could possibly be.

The first hiccup came an hour into the surgery. Jackson paused. April looked at him.

Lanier asked “What? Why are you stopping?”

It was April who answered. “The vagus nerve. The tumor is completely encasing it.”

“Crap! What now?”

“Give him a minute.” she answered.

Jackson glanced at her. She'd always had far more confidence in him than he had in himself. Dylan's vocal chords were at stake.

“Lets try a medial cut at the bottom of nerve encirclement. The tumor looks thinner there. If we can expose the nerve at that point we should be able to cut away the cancerous tissue without injury to the nerve itself.”

After several tense minutes, April again looked up at Jackson. “The vagus nerve is cleared. Nicely done, Dr Avery.”

He returned her glance, grateful.

An hour later another complication arose.

“April, we have a bleeder. Can you locate?”

“Working on it. Wait, I have it. OK, too big to cauterize, I'll ligate.”

Moments later, Jackson said, “Nice technique, Dr Kepner.”

“Just a little stick tie suture ligation, nothing special but it gets the job done.”

“That it does.”

Finally, Jackson was able to remove the last of the cancerous tissue.

“OK, thats it for mister tumor. Lets close and I'll see what I can do to make Dylan look good for those prom pictures.”

  
  


The three surgeons exited the OR together. Lanier stuck out his hand.

“That was textbook brilliance.”

Jackson shook it, smiling. “Team effort all the way.”

April shook Lanier's hand next, then she and Jackson exchanged their customary high five.

“Nice job, Doctor Avery.”

“Right back at you, Doctor Kepner.”

And standing there, in the hospital corridor, after a seemingly flawless surgical performance, they both felt how good it was to be there together.

“Why don't you go tell Terry and Josie how brilliant you were.” suggested Lanier.

“We could all go.” replied Jackson.

“No, you two go. I've got other patients to check on. And I see Terry too much as it is.” he stage whispered the last.

So April and Jackson made their way to the surgical waiting room and found Terry and Josie there.

“The surgery went very well, particularly for what we were up against.”

Josie was crying, smiling and ringing her hands. Terry Avery just beamed.

April thought she detected a little touch of pride in the way he looked at Jackson.

“Now the next 24 hours will tell us how we really did, but if there are no complications between now and tomorrow, then I think we'll be out of the woods.”

Once again, Jackson found himself wrapped in Josie's tight embrace. “Oh Jackson, how can we ever thank you?” she whispered into his scrubs.

He looked to his father, who had picked up the astonished April and twirled her around in his own hug. And his father's eyes met his and he knew immediately what Jackson wanted, no, needed. He nodded to his son. He would answer all his questions and tell him everything he wanted to know. He certainly owed him that.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is more getting down to business than Avery drama.   
> That should probably serve as fair warning about the next though.  
> Hope you like it. Thanks for hangin in there.


	4. Thursday (Day 4)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Their surgery a success and their patient on the road to recovery, Jackson can return once again to his personal quest.  
> Terry and Josie have invited Jackson and April back to their place for dinner and a chance to ask questions.  
> Will they be able to accept the answers?

The barista at Caliber was desperately trying to engage Jackson in conversation as he waited for her to finish making his latte. It was a familiar scenario for April, who long ago recognized that unless she was willing to disfigure Jackson herself, he would always draw a lot of female attention. As familiar as it was, it still irritated her, particularly as it was clear she was accompanying him when this happened. She knew it was irrational for her to still be stirred by this, since the divorce had ended any claim she had on him, but her feelings had never been in lockstep with her reasoning.

She narrowed her eyes and then stepped close to him, looking up into his handsome face, and asking “Did you remember to lock the cabin door?” in a voice definitely loud enough for the barista to hear. Smiling sweetly at the barista, she noted with satisfaction the disappointment on the girls face as she concentrated on steaming the milk.

Jackson looked at her quizzically for a moment, about to point out that she had been the last one out, when he recognized Aprils little game. He smiled down at her and threw his arm around her shoulder. “I'm sure I did, darling.” he answered in the most loving voice he could muster as he pulled her tight against his side. He considered kissing her forehead as well but thought that might be a bit over the top. That and he didn't want April to punch him.

April just batted her long eyelashes at him, accepting the fact that he had caught her in her little gambit, and hoping that he didn't push it too far. She knew she was likely to get more grief from him later about this.

“The thing is, they see me right there with you.” April was still miffed as they exited the Caliber after eating their breakfast. “They don't know if we're dating or married or anything. How can they do that?”

“Why are you wound up about this? We're not together and I didn't even know she was flirting until you made me aware” Jackson was finding this quite amusing.

“It's the principal of the thing. How can someone intentionally try to break someone up like that?”

“Well, I seem to remember a guy jumping up at a wedding so he could get the bride to run away with him.”

April rolled her eyes and gave him THAT look. “That was entirely different.”

“Really, how so?”

“We already had been friends and lovers and I had already told you I wanted you.”

“Oh yeah, right before my girlfriend showed up.”

April punched him hard on his shoulder. “So maybe I should have told you to go jump in a lake?”

“Would have been justified. But I think you were too attracted to my hypnotic eyes.”

April punched him again. “Attractive guys who know they're attractive are not very attractive.”

Jackson stopped on the sidewalk. “Wait, let me work that out. Attractive ...”

April punched him a third time. “You know damn well what I mean.”

And they began walking toward the car again.”Doesn't using the word _damn_ violate one of your Commandments?” Jackson teased. He hadn't had this much fun in a long long time.

“I'm about to violate several more.” she threatened darkly.

Arriving at the hospital, the first item on the agenda was to check on their patient. Everything on his chart was positive. After a routine post-op stay in Recovery, he had been moved to the ICU to ensure he was being closely monitored throughout the night. His stay in the ICU also uneventful, he was scheduled to be moved back to room 211A later this morning. Apparently Dr. Lanier had already been round to visit him and was telling everyone who'd listen what amazing surgeons their visitors from Seattle were.

Jackson and April were on their way to see for themselves how amazing they are when they ran into Josie in the hallway. Jackson, now knowing her MO, accepted her hug with grace and good humor. April did as well.

“Where's Terry?” asked April, when the woman finally released her.

“Oh, he had to go home to care for and feed the animals.” Josie replied. “He'll be back in an hour or so, hopefully in time for Dylan being moved.”

“Josie, you know I'm kind of curious about something. If Terry is Dylan's father, why is Dylan's last name Cooper?” asked April, hoping she wasn't being too personal.

“Because my name is Cooper, not Avery, and we have a common-law marriage, rather than a traditional one. Dylan was born before we declared anything, so he got my name instead of Terry's.”

Jackson raised his eyebrows at this. “And Terry is OK with that? He didn't even want to hyphenate?” Of course Jackson and April had opted to hyphenate for Harriet.

April worried that now they were crossing the line into none-of-their-business and hoped Josie wouldn't be hurt.

If she was offended, she didn't show it. “Terry actually insisted on it. I was willing to name him Avery, or Avery-Cooper, or anything, but Terry said it would be best to stick with Cooper. So we did.”

Interesting, thought Jackson. I wonder why? He couldn't have foreseen a day when his estranged son would be asked to come to Montana and perform surgery on his heretofore unknown half-brother and the need to hide the fact behind the name Cooper.

When they checked on Dylan in the ICU they were more than satisfied with his progress. He was awake and alert but the tracheostomy prevented him from speaking. Jackson reminded him again that he would have to live with being trach'd for a few days at least, as the post op swelling receded and the various structures in his throat recovered. They promised to come and see him later in 211A.

With today being largely a sit and wait day, April and Jackson retired again to the doctor's lounge to catch up on email and voicemail.

April again Facetimed with Catherine so she could see Harriet, who seemed as happy as ever. The same couldn't be said for Catherine, who looked a little tired, and not in a good way.

“We love having her but truthfully, we'll be glad to see you back tomorrow. This little one is wearing her granma out, aren't you darling girl?”

Harriet confirmed by sticking her knuckle in her mouth.

“I think we'll be ready to come home too, right Jackson?” April said.

Jackson came and looked over her shoulder. “Hi baby.” he said sweetly. “Hi mom”, he added less sweetly.

Catherine gave him an exasperated look. “Oh Jackson, you can't still be mad at your mother.”

“Minnick still working at Grey Sloan?”

“Yes.”

“Then, yes, I am still mad at you.”

“Jackson, I thought we agreed not to discuss this during this trip” April said out of the side of her mouth.

“She brought it up.”

“Even if that were true...”

“OK, subject dropped.”

Catherine watched the exchange on her iPad. Something has changed with these two, she thought.

Jackson went back to his chair.

April changed the subject. “You haven't asked about the procedure.”

“Tell me.”

“It went very well. The local surgeon described it as _textbook brilliance_.”

“Well of course, we sent our very best.”

Her comment reminded April of something Terry Avery had said to her on their first night in Montana.

“Bob Lanier is very grateful.”

Catherine was trying to keep a squirming Harriet upright.

“ _Brock_ Lanier, isn't it?” she corrected.

“Oh, right, what did I say? You know they call him Griz...” So Jackson was right. Catherine Avery was up to her eyeballs in this thing somehow.

  


“Just think for a minute, did you ever tell anyone at Grey Sloan who had called and asked you to come here?”

Jackson tried to remember. “No, I don't think so. The only one I even talked to about this thing is Bailey, and you.”

“You didn't exactly talk to me about it. It was more like you refused to talk to me about it.”

“Yeah, well remember, we weren't exactly on friendly terms at that point.”

He could see April's expression hardening as she recalled that night. It hadn't been his finest hour.

“But I've apologized for that already so double jeopardy says you can't be mad at me again about it.”

“Double jeopardy, huh?”

“Double jeopardy and hypnotic puppydog eyes.” The face that Jackson called his _puppydog eyes_ was so bizarrely ludicrous that April had to laugh in spite of herself. She didn't know it but she was the only person in the world Jackson Avery had ever let himself be silly for.

“You are such a weirdo.”

Mission accomplished, thought Jackson.

“Did you tell Bailey who you had been talking to here?” April tried to get her case back on track.

“No, she never asked.”

“Then the only way she could know about Brock Lanier, aka Griz, is if she is the one who got you sent here.” April concluded triumphantly.

“Now who is being paranoid about my mother?”

“It's only paranoia if you can't prove it.” countered April.

“Your evidence is pretty circumstantial. I mean maybe Lanier logged a call or two into the hospital before he reached me. Or maybe when he was referred by the Foundation, that person mentioned it to my mother.”

“I don't understand you.” exclaimed April, growing a little peaved at Jackson's repudiation of the case she was making. “Wasn't it just the night before last that you were telling me to beware of her plots? And now I hand you a juicy one on a silver platter and you just want to poop all over it.”

Jackson had abandoned all hints of silliness now.

“Maybe I'm pooping all over it because if you're right, if my mother sent me here to Big Sky, then she must know that my father is here.”

“Crap!” breathed April. “That couldn't be a coincidence.”

Suddenly April was sorry she had pushed this on him. For if it was true that Catherine had arranged for them to be here, that she knew his father was here, then it meant that she had been keeping it from Jackson.

Jackson was walking the length of the room. “It would explain some things.”

He looked out of the window. “There's at least one person who I'll bet has some answers for us. Lets go see him.”

  


When they arrived at 211A, Lanier was still supervising Dylan's transfer from the ICU. Because the young man would be severely limited for several days, all manner of equipment would surround his bed to monitor his condition and sustain his needs.

Terry and Josie stood in a corner, trying to stay out of the way as the techs and orderlies rolled equipment and plugged lines into sockets. The process finally complete, the room emptied of everyone except the patient, his family, and his doctors.

Lanier formally reviewed Dylan's progress to date and briefed Terry and Josie on what was to come. It wouldn't be an easy road, but things looked really good for a complete recovery.

“And we have these folks to thank for that.” Lanier magnanimously credited Jackson and April.

“And Doctor Lanier and the whole staff who performed perfectly.” added Jackson sincerely.

At that, Griz Lanier shook Jackson's hand, surprised April with a hug, thanked them again for coming, excusing himself to make one more round on his patients before he called it a day. With Jackson and April leaving Big Sky early the next day, this was the last time they'd see him.

These Montana people sure are huggers, thought April. Then she realized she would miss Lanier, who'd gone out of his way to make them feel at home and, more importantly, checked any ego at the door to let them run the case they way they wanted.

Satisfied that Dylan was settled as comfortably as the situation allowed, Jackson turned to his father.

“We really need to talk.”

“I know. After what you've done for Dylan..” the man momentarily struggled for words, “After what you've done, I owe it to you to tell you everything. It's high time regardless. Josie's sister, Ellen, is coming to sit with Dylan this afternoon and tonight, to give Josie a break. Please, you and April come out to our place for dinner. That will give us a good long opportunity to talk. And Josie is a helluva cook, so bring your appetites.”

Jackson looked at April. Forgotten was his earlier intention to exclude her from further involvement in his personal mission. “That work for you?”

April nodded. “It works.”

“Great,” responded Terry with what seemed like genuine relief, “We'll be home by 3:30. Come out then so I can show you around before it gets dark. I know you can find it.” he winked.

Well, thought Jackson, just a few hours to kill before I find out just how much of what I've thought and believed is real or not.

  


The rough gravel road out to Terry and Josie's place was much easier to negotiate in the light of day. Still, Jackson wished he had rented a car with more clearance than the Jetta they had rented from Hertz at the Bozeman airport.

When they pulled up at last, they understood why Terry had suggested coming out early to take advantage of the light. The setting was spectacular, with snowy peaks to the west, their forested slopes running down toward them like dark green waves.

The property itself was heavily treed, though many of the trees were broadleaved and so still bare of their leaves as winter slowly lost its grip to spring.

In addition to the trees which they hadn't been able to see in the dark night earlier in the week, there were also several more buildings than they could account for. There was a large barn, a bit ramshackle but still apparently serviceable. A couple of smaller shacks also dotted the property.

Most interesting of all, sitting across the drive opposite the house was a battered and forsaken building that appeared to have once been a restaurant or bar perhaps. Peering at the splintering sign over the door April could just make out the words **Jefferson Grill**. _What's your story?_ she wondered. But the Jefferson Grill didn't offer up any of its secrets.

Jackson and April were almost to the porch of the house when the door sprang open and both Terry and Josie poured themselves out to welcome their visitors. Josie, of course, hugged both of them tightly, while Terry also hugged April but shook hands with Jackson.

Ushered into the house April saw the front room, did Josie call it the parlor?, was full of old, possibly antique, furniture. They followed Terry and Josie to the familiar kitchen, which definitely served as the heart of the house. The smells emanating from the oven told them that Josie had wasted no time since arriving home.

Terry saw Jackson and April taking in the delicious smells and grinned broadly. “Told you she could cook, didn't I?”

“I do alright I guess.” admitted Josie humbly.

“Her family has been in the cooking business for generations. That's how we met. She was running the Grill when I bought this place.”

“The Grill?” asked April, “The Jefferson Grill?”

“That's right. See how sharp eyed she is?” Terry asked his wife.

Josie rolled her eyes. “Yes, dear, I see how sharp she is. April, you'll have to forgive my husband. He appears to have developed quite a crush on you. I'd let you take him but I've become too fond of you myself to burden you like that.”

They all laughed. I really like this woman, April admitted. I really like both of them. Please God, she prayed, let Jackson find peace with his father.

Drinks were offered and accepted. The men drank beer from the bottle while the women uncorked a nice California merlot. The four then compared notes on their last contact with Dylan. April and Jackson had checked on him one last time, to make sure he was OK, and say their goodbyes. They had found Josie's sister already on duty.

With Dylan now well beyond the critical 24 period following surgery, the prognosis for his full recovery was excellent. They toasted that with gusto.

“Well, I wanted to get you out here early to show you around before dark, and now we're burning daylight here in the house. What say we give you the walking tour?” asked Terry.

“Sounds good.” Jackson answered.

“Dinners in the oven and I'm in a bottle of wine so I think I'll stay behind.” begged off Josie. She gave a meaningful glance in April's direction.

“I think I'll stay in here with Josie. It's cold out there and I'm just getting warm again. Maybe she'll teach me some of that cooking magic that's making this kitchen smell so good.” April had caught the hint. Terry's invitation had been directed at Jackson, implicitly, if not explicitly.

“OK, then. Best coat up, Jackson. It's pleasant enough with the sun still shining but as soon as it drops behind that ridge, so will the temperature.” Terry advised the surgeon.

Over the rim of her wine glass, April watched the men put on their coats and make their way to the door.

Josie saw April's gaze follow them. “They'll be fine.” she reassured the younger woman.

April turned to look at her. She wondered how much of the story she knew. A lot more than April did, she suspected. Her suspicions were confirmed a moment later.

“So, April, tell me, how is that sweet little Harriet doing?”

April almost choked on her sip of wine. “Wait, what?”

  


As Terry led Jackson past the barn he related the history of the place, how he had come to take ownership of it, and how he hoped to pass it on to Dylan someday.

He looked at Jackson carefully. “And to you, maybe, if you'd be willing to accept it.”

Jackson had to give his father credit. It had been a clever way to open the dialogue on their relationship.

“Dylan doesn't even know I'm his brother, does he? He might wonder why he is being asked to share his inheritance with a guy who wandered into town once to operate on him.”

“No, he doesn't know. Yet. But there's a reason for that and we will tell him, when the time is right.”

They were crunching through crusty snow now, halfway across a field, or perhaps a pasture. Jackson stopped. “When will the time be right to tell me? It seems like a whole lot of people have been making decisions about what I should and should not know and right now, I'm having trouble telling the truth from the lies.”

“Yes, you're right. And I apologize for that. But to answer your question, _now_. Now I'm finally able to answer your questions and tell you the truth about... well, about us, all of us.”

  


Josie reached up and grabbed a bottle of amber colored liquid off the shelf above the stove, along with two short glasses. She placed all three on the table between them.

“I'm sure you have questions too, April. I'm also pretty sure you're going to want something stronger than Merlot for the answers.”

  


“Your mother and I met in Boston about four years before you were born. She was a rising star in Urology, and I was pretty much coasting on my famous surgeon father's name.”

“It's not that I hated him, but I resented having to live in his shadow all the time, which is exactly what I was doing at Mass General.”

“Yeah, I can relate to that.” Jackson said, gazing at the peaks in the distance.

“At the same time, I was kind of stuck. I didn't have enough of Harper's drive or skill to go out and make my own way, which only made me resent him more.”

“When your mother showed up, with at least as much skill and ambition as my father, I was dazzled. We started _associating_ with each other and that's really when I started to learn some dark truths about the Averys.”

“Dark truths?” repeated Jackson.

“Well, to start with, as soon as it became known I was dating Catherine, I was summoned to my father's office and educated to the fact that my father was a central figure in a Good Old Boys network that pretty much ran health care on the east coast. Or maybe I should say a Good Old White Boys network. My father made it very clear that it was not good for his all-important reputation to have his son involved with a black woman from a _common_ background.”

“Fuck!” swore Jackson quietly, his fists clenching and unclenching.

“My sentiments exactly, as I recall. But as you might guess, this direction from my father only made Catherine more attractive to me and before long we were married.”

Jackson looked at his father. Terry met his gaze and continued.

“Now I know what you are thinking and you are right, defiance is not a good basis for a marriage. But I was young and stupid, and Catherine was young and ambitious, and both of us were angry so, it seemed like a good idea at the time.” Terry confessed.

The elder Avery continued, “And then the strangest thing happened. The reaction in the medical community was positive. Turns out this was the time that civil rights and equality for women were becoming national causes and a lot of pressure was being applied to institutions across all industries and professions to open their doors to women and minorities.”

“So my mother became an asset.”

“Exactly. And my father was smart enough to recognize it. All of a sudden, Catherine was the poster girl for everything Avery. And to give him his due, he actually developed a genuine fondness and respect for your mother, which helped her raise her profile and when my father wanted to establish the Foundation to cement his legacy, he turned to her. And it was a smart choice.”

Jackson exhaled, his breath turning to steam as the temperature began to drop. “And the Harper Avery Foundation was born.”

“The Harper Avery Foundation was born.” repeated his father. “But, by then I had already been exiled.”

“Exiled?”

“That's what I call it. Banished fits too.”

“What are you talking about? Your marriage had just raised grandfather even higher.”

“No, Catherine had. The way they saw it, I had defied them and needed to be punished, regardless of the fortuitous gift it had brought them.”

“They? Them? You mean grandfather, don't you?”

“Yes, certainly, but the real villain behind everything is my Uncle Fletcher.”

“Fletcher? I've never even heard that name.”

“I'm not surprised. He's always kept a low profile. But don't underestimate him just because he stays out of sight. Fletcher is an attorney, and a pretty prominent one, but nowhere near as famous as my father. He is evil. And he had his brother's ear. And he is the real power in the Foundation.” Terry Avery's voice had dropped down low, as though he feared his words would be overheard.

It's like this guy is frickin Voldemort or something, thought Jackson. “So what did this Fletcher guy do?”

“I was again called into an office, but this time it was Fletcher's, and my father wasn't present. My uncle calmly told me what I was going to do and what would happen if I didn't. First, I was to divorce Catherine, and quickly. Then I would leave Boston. The Avery's had already been acquisitive in hospitals and healthcare facilities and Fletcher had identified a small hospital in a small town in Montana that I would be given a position at. I remember him presenting it as though he was doing me a huge favor, basically an extended ski vacation, and all I had to do was leave Catherine and cease all contact with her and the family.”

“And you agreed to this?” Leaving him was one thing. Leaving his mother was another. His voice was hard and so was his expression.

Terry's, however, was breaking. “The alternative, my uncle explained, was that he would destroy your mother. He would ruin her career and her reputation. She would be lucky, he said, if she could get a job as a maid at Motel 6.”

Jackson looked at his father, outraged. “He could have done this?”

“Jackson, the old boys network ran everything. They could do anything they wanted. Revoke licenses, fabricate records, influence authorities, anything. For them, ruining reputations is something they do before breakfast.”

“So you caved in.” It was a statement, not a question.

Terry was pleading now. “You know your mother. Can you imagine how she would have suffered having everything she'd worked for stripped away from her? Can you?”

No, Jackson admitted, he couldn't. He didn't even want to. “And when you asked her for a divorce?”

“She said no. She said no one in her family got divorced. And I told her everyone in mine did.”

Suddenly Jackson felt dizzy and the world was spinning. He'd heard those words before. He'd said those words before.

“But I was insistent. I told her the truth and I lied to her. I told her I'd married her to get back at my father. I told her that I had never committed myself to anything. And I told her I didn't love her, that I never had. And finally, she gave in. The divorce was finalized and I packed up and moved to Big Sky.”

“And just left us.”

Terry's head snapped up. “What? No! I didn't leave you. Jackson, I didn't leave you. I didn't know Catherine was pregnant.”

  


Josie poured another shot of whiskey into April's glass. The poor girl looked like she needed it after Josie had just revealed that Catherine Avery had let Terry divorce her and leave without ever telling him she was pregnant.

  


Jackson Avery stood in the snowy field like a statue, unable to move, unable to think, unable to speak, unable to comprehend a truth beyond comprehension. All his life he'd thought his father had abandoned him, left his child self, because he had better things to do. All false. All wrong.

Meanwhile, Terry Avery had become very agitated beside him. “Wait, did she tell you that? Did she tell you that I abandoned you? That I left YOU?”

  


“I knew Terry had been married before, but that was all. He never wanted to talk about it and I didn't see the need to dredge up ancient history. Of course, if we'd known about Jackson, I suppose we'd have done things differently.” Josie said as she stirred the pot on the stove.

April felt the warmth of the whiskey going down her throat. She hoped the earth-shaking revelations were done as two whiskeys was about her limit. And while the thought of being blotto had a certain attraction at the moment, she needed her senses to help Jackson, who she guessed was in even more dire straights.

  


Unable to get a response from Jackson, who seemed, understandably, to be in shock, Terry decided to press on with the story even though he was now shaken as well.

“I didn't find out about you until a few years ago when I received a call late one night from a Washington number.”

Jackson stirred. “My mother.”

“That's right,” Terry was eyeing him carefully. “Of course I was in just as much shock then as you are now. She said she had some very important news for me and that I should sit down. Then she told me that we had a son. Imagine, finding out you have a son thirty years after you last saw his mother? Well, she told me your name, that you were a successful surgeon living in Seattle, and that you had just gotten married. I asked for more information but she didn't want to stay on too long. Before we hung up I asked her why she was telling me now, after keeping the secret for so many years. She told me it was because of what you said to her, about April. That she was _the one_. She said that made her decide to forgive me for telling her that I had never loved her. She said that's when she knew her son wasn't like his father.”

  


“Catherine called Terry out of the blue that night and by the time he hung up he was a complete mess. I sent Dylan out to do his chores so he wouldn't see his father that way. When he could finally talk to me he told me that he had a son that he'd never been aware of. That he lived in Seattle. And that he'd just married. He couldn't tell me any more.” said Josie.

A timer ticked off its finally seconds and began ringing, prompting her to get up from her stool, grab some oven mitts, and go to open the oven.

“I wonder why Catherine decided to tell Terry right then?” pondered April.

“Was the wedding an emotional event for her?”

“If by emotional you mean disappointing, frustrating, and angering. She wasn't there. Jackson and I basically eloped. It was not well received by Catherine.”

“No, having met her, I can see where that wouldn't go over very big.”

“You've MET her?” exclaimed April, astonished.

“Yes, she was here not very long ago. Right about the time Dylan was finally diagnosed.” answered Josie as she slid a huge steaming tray of juicy meat onto the table.

Oh boy! thought April, this is one hot mess of a story.

  


Terry looked at his son. “It's getting dark. We should probably head back.”

Jackson nodded and fell in beside his father. “I know you've talked to her since. You know about...” His emotions raw, he couldn't bring himself to say the name.

“Your son, yes, I have been communicating with her over the last few years. She is pretty well-known so it wasn't difficult to track her down. And while she wasn't thrilled that I did, we were able to get past it. We talk pretty regularly now and she even visited a few months back.”

“My mom came here?”

“Yes. She came because I asked her to. For Dylan.”

That confirms April's theory, thought Jackson. His mother was the source and the reason he was here.

“And that's how I came to be here.”

“Yes, you and April.”

Something in the way he said that...

“Do you mean that April coming was intentional?” Jackson asked.

“Your mother always specifically said it would you and April.” Terry confirmed.

“From the beginning?”

“From the very beginning.”

“Did she say why?”

Terry looked at Jackson carefully. He seemed to be weighing how he should answer the question.

“Jackson, I can't really answer that without betraying your mother's trust. You'll need to ask her if you want the complete answer. Let's just say for now, April was chosen because your mother considers her the best surgeon at Grey Sloan and she says April brings out the best in you.”

  


“Right from the start, Jackson's mother said you and Jackson were the best team to operate on Dylan. She said she wouldn't trust anybody else.”

“Wait, she specifically talked about me coming with Jackson.” asked April. That can't be right, she thought, I was a last minute add.”

“Yes, she said you were not only a rock star but you also brought out the best in her son.”

Catherine said that? thought April, staring out the window, where she could make out two figures approaching the house.

  


“One more question.” requested Jackson, coming to a stop next to a low picket fence. The house was only a hundred feet away now and Jackson wasn't sure he'd get another opportunity to talk to his father alone.

“Just one?” Terry gave a quiet laugh.

“How did you forgive her? How can you even speak to her after she kept that secret for so long.”

Terry understood that Jackson was asking for the both of them.

“I guess by putting myself in her shoes. By trying to understand the anger and hurt I caused when I gave her up, when I lied to her. Jackson, even though I didn't technically abandon you, I might as well have. What I did led her to take action to protect herself and you. Moreso than you know. So don't blame her. There is nothing that woman wouldn't do for you. Talk to her. We, you and I, are only the tip of the iceberg.”

Jackson stared at him.

Terry looked back at him and then asked a strange question. “Do you watch Game of Thrones?”

“Yeah, we love it. Why?”

“Because Winters Coming. You'll understand after you talk to your mother.”

“That's pretty cryptic.”

“Meant to be. Now, can I ask you a question?”

“Why not?” answered Jackson.

“That first night we met, you and April didn't exactly seem to be getting along so well.”

“Not seeing the question there but yeah, we weren't particularly happy with each other then.”

“But things are a little better now?”

Jackson was interested to find out where this line of questioning was leading. “Yes, much.”

“OK, good.”

Jackson looked at him quizzically.

“Just wondering if I needed to call Gary over at Lone Mountain Ranch and tell him to put the couch back in your cabin.” Terry Avery grinned at his son and strode toward the door of the house.

“Son of a bitch.” whispered Jackson.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OK, we're almost there.  
> Hope there's enough gas in the tank for the final chapter.
> 
> special shoutout to another_maggies for suggesting some key dialogue ;-)  
> read her stuff too, its great!
> 
> See, it pays to leave comments :-)


	5. Friday (Day 5)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jackson and April leave Big Sky and head for home.  
> There are still some things Jackson needs to know but he has an idea where he will find the answers.
> 
>  
> 
> And what happened in that little cabin on their last night in Montana?

April was already halfway to the car with her bag when Jackson took one last look around the cabin and pulled the door shut behind him. He couldn't help feeling a little sad. Not that this week had been easy, far from it. He still hadn't fully digested the story his father had told him the previous afternoon, nor comprehended its implications for the future. But Harper Avery, his mother, his father, all of it, were secondary in his consciousness this morning. All he could think about this morning was April. And how sorry he was that they had to leave.

For him, this time in Montana seemed like a corridor that they had been briefly made to walk side by side in. But now, the corridor was ending and there were a hundred, a million, an infinite number of doors leading on. Would they choose the same door? Jackson Avery was terrified.

She was still at the rear of the Jetta when he reached it, struggling to get the telescoping handle of her rollerbag to retract so she could fit it into the trunk. Jackson recognized the bag. It was the same one she had used when they had traveled to Ohio to have him meet her family the first time. Even then the handle had been broken and a struggle to raise and lower. He had begged her to just throw it away and get a new one. April, being April, had protested that it was still a perfectly good bag and that she would just get the handle fixed when she found the time. But of course, no one fixes those things. So here she was still trying to get that damned broken handle to retract. She drove him crazy sometimes. Check that, she drove him crazy all the time, but sometimes it wasn't the good kind of crazy.

He watched her fight with the handle. Jackson knew better than to try and help her. So he just watched as patiently as he could. He watched the way her hair danced as she pushed and wiggled. He noticed the pale perfect skin of her cheeks, and the pink blush bestowed on them by the cold Montana morning air. He knew she was avoiding eye contact because she was aware of him standing there and she didn't want to give him an opening to say something or demonstrate his assumed impatience with her.

Finally, the handle retracted and he heard her little “Yes!” of triumph. As she lifted the bag into the trunk, she at last looked at him, daring him to say something. He fought to keep his face neutral and himself silent. Once her bag was in, he slipped his in beside and closed the trunk lid.

Instead of going to the driver's side, he went to the passenger door, where April waited for the door to be unlocked. She looked at him questioningly as he approached her. He stood in front of her and she looked up at him, her eyes wide. He pressed the remote twice to unlock all the doors, then opened her door for her. He heard her exhale as though she had been holding her breath. She climbed in and sat in the passenger seat, her eyes following as he closed her door, walked around the front of the car, and let himself into the driver's seat.

He knew she was looking at him. He felt it. “Just trying to practice better manners” he told the windshield. “its a new year's resolution I made.”

“And starting now?” she asked

He looked at her. “That's me, start slow and finish strong.”

“It's March.” She smiled at him. A little dose of good crazy.

_It's April_ , he confessed to himself.

The drive to the Bozeman airport took a little over an hour. They exchanged maybe a dozen meaningless words. They hadn't even left Montana yet but already it seemed like walls were being erected. Neither of them knew what to do about it. It seemed to Jackson that April had pulled away from him. To her as though Jackson regretted what had happened. Both felt something slipping away through their fingers, something good, but they couldn't quite find a way to grip it tight enough.

His mother was waiting for them outside security. She was holding the squirming bundle of baby energy that was Harriet. Catherine looked exhausted. Jackson took some quiet satisfaction in that. _Atta girl, Harriet, softened her up for me, didn't you?_

April struggled to get her bag into the trunk of Catherine's car. A tired, irritable Catherine made ready to say something to her but Jackson stopped her before she could get a word out. “Let her be.” His tone and expression made it clear he meant it. Catherine swallowed her impatience.

The mailbox had been stuffed to overflowing with the week's accumulation, the mail hold expiring that day. One of Jackson's favorite rants was about mail, particularly junk mail. In the age of online payments and communication, how can a mailbox still accumulate so much paper?

As April tended to Harriet in their baby's room, Jackson put away the other pieces that accompanied the Harriet Kepner-Avery traveling show. Then he went through the house, opening windows, to clear out the stuffiness that came with closing a house for five days.

Once done he went to Harriet's room to assess the progress there. Stopping and leaning against the door jam, he found April feeding their daughter. Apparently a week of bottle feeding hadn't dulled Harriet's zest for getting her nutrition right from the source. Jackson smiled. It seemed so strange. In other context the sight of April's breast evinced an entirely different form of appreciation from him. The sight of her feeding their daughter, however, he simply found to be the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen.

April looked up at him from the rocking chair and smiled. As usual, it took his breath away.

He gathered himself. “Uh, I just need to go take care of something.” He needn't have danced around it. She knew where he was going.

“OK.”

“When I get back..”

“Yes, we will.” She knew that too.

“OK.” He tapped the door frame twice with his fist and disappeared from the doorway.

  
  


Catherine Avery answered the door in her bathrobe, surprised to find her son on her porch.

“Jackson, what is it? Did we forget something?” She looked back toward her living room, wondering if she had forgotten to pack something of Harriet's.

“No. We have everything.” he answered.

“Is something wrong? Is Harriet alright? April?”

“They're fine. I'm here to talk.”

Catherine sighed. While she certainly knew this was coming, she was hoping she'd have a good night's sleep to recover before being confronted by her son. Obviously that had been a pipe dream.

“Come in then.” she stood aside to allow Jackson room to enter.

He made no move.

She read his mind. “Richard is back to sleeping at the hospital now that Harriet is back home.”

Jackson entered. They made their way to the kitchen where Catherine beckoned Jackson to a bar stool. Jackson saw an open bottle of wine and a glass half filled beside it. Webber was a recovering alcoholic and alcoholic beverages had long ago been banned from the home.

Catherine followed his eyes to the bottle. “Don't worry. That will be long gone before Richard comes back. Would you like to help?” she opened the cabinet to retrieve another glass.

“No, no thank you.”

“Jackson, you might as well say what's on your mind. I'm not getting any younger.”

“Why did you send me, send us? Obviously you knew he'd tell me what you did.”

“What _I_ did? Don't you mean what _we_ did?”

“You, him, both of you, you knew he would tell me everything.”

“Obviously.”

“So why? Why go to the trouble? Why spread breadcrumbs to lure me to him when you could have told me everything yourself? Years ago!”

Catherine took a sip of her wine, stalling as she debating how she wanted to explain herself.

“I wanted to give him a chance to tell you.”

“But why?”

“Because I owed him that.”

“Why, damn it?”

“Because I hid you from him. Because I let you believe he'd left you. Because I wanted to get back at him for hurting me. There, do you understand? Is that what you wanted?”

Jackson's anger was simmering. “Don't you see? You used me to get back at him. My whole life, I thought my father had abandoned me. All because you wanted to get back at him.”

Catherine made no defense.

“Do you understand what that's done to me?” Suddenly Jackson had an epiphany. “Oh God,” he said, invoking an entity he didn't even believe in, “April, Jordan, our marriage! It was all about the same thing, that same feeling, that she abandoned me.”

Jackson's face was contorted in pain. What if he had known the truth? Would things have been different? It was almost too much to bear. He looked at his mother. He wondered if he would ever be able to see her the same way again.

Catherine recognized that her relationship with Jackson was wounded, maybe beyond repair. But she hoped not. She hoped that by coming clean about everything, they could move past it. She was his mother after all. But that wouldn't happen tonight so she had better rip off all the other band-aids as well.

“Other questions?”

Jackson looked at her. Was there even more? “You tell me.”

“I would think you might want to know about the timing of these revelations.”

Jackson nodded. “I'd like to know when you found out about Fletcher sending my father away?”

“Just a few years later. As soon as I started building the Foundation, I became aware of Fletcher and his cronies and how ruthless and self serving they are. Then it didn't take much to 'follow the breadcrumbs' as you said.”

“But you didn't contact him, even then?”

“Your father? No. But I ask you to try and see things from my perspective for once. Terence had told me he never loved me and proved it by forcing me to divorce and then leaving town. Fletcher may have ordered it, but your father could have fought. Better yet, he could have told me and we could have fought it together.”

It was his mother's style to fight, he had to acknowledge, even if the odds were stacked against her. Suddenly he remembered April following him out of the 'bubble', declaring she would fight and bleed and wound and tear to keep them together. And that had been a losing cause for her, hadn't it. Jackson blinked away the moisture that had suddenly emerged at the edge of his eyes.

“What made you reach out to him, finally, years later?”

Catherine looked at Jackson frankly.

“You. You did. After years of wasting your time with all those women, never making any emotional investments, never letting any of them get any closer to you than your bed, I had lost hope. I had begun to think that you would end up just like your father. That you didn't even know how to love. Then you married April. And I could see you weren't like your father at all, or at least what I believed your father to be.”

“I told you she was _the one_.” whispered Jackson.

Catherine smiled sadly. “He told you that did he? He really did tell you everything then.”

“He said you forgave him.”

“Yes. I did. Jackson, love doesn't heal all wounds. But it does allow you to forgive the wounder.”

For a few moments, Jackson could hear the ticking of the grandfather clock in his mother's entrance way.

“You've been talking to him.”

“Yes, once he found out about you, he wouldn't let me be. So we talked, filled in the missing pieces of our story, and made peace with each other. That's when we began plotting a way to have you two meet.”

“Why not just tell me then and introduce us?”

“It's not that simple. For one thing, the Foundation can never know that he and I are in contact, and absolutely not know that you and he are.”

“What, why? Surely after all this time..”

Catherine cut her son off. “No! Not after all this time. Fletcher Avery is still running the Foundation and he absolutely would take action if he found out.”

“What kind of action? He can't touch you. Grandfather would protect us.”

“Your grandfather couldn't or wouldn't protect his own son from Fletcher, don't believe for a second that we are safe. And even if they can't do much to us directly, they have ways to hurt us.”

“What ways?”

“April. Harriet.”

Jackson was stunned. The thought that his ex-wife and daughter might be hostage to his actions horrified him.

“I'll go to the Board. I'll go to the press. We've got to expose these monsters.”

“Haven't you been paying attention, Jackson? They ARE the Board. And the press isn't what it used to be. They could make any trouble you stirred up there go away pretty conveniently.”

Catherine looked at her son carefully, weighing how much she should reveal.

“Jackson, did Terence say anything to you about what I might be planning?”

“No, he said he couldn't tell me something because it would violate your confidence, and that I should talk to you. Then he made some kind of bizarre Game of Thrones reference.”

“Game of what?”

“Game of Thrones. It's a series on HBO.” Jackson knew that Richard and his mother didn't watch much TV. “Its about a fictional world where all these factions are fighting for control and there's a whole lot of intrigue and backstabbing. They say _winters coming_ to indicate things are coming to a big conclusion.”

He looked at his mother. “What does that have to do with you, or April, or Harriet?”

“Jackson, you must promise me that you won't tell any of this to anyone.”

“Even April?” he asked

“Especially April, until its time.” Catherine replied seriously.

The small hairs on the back of Jackson's neck were standing up straight. His mother was creeping him out a little.

“I promise.”

“Ever since I learned what Fletcher did to your father, to us, I've been looking for a way to take him down, and all of his cronies too. Terence and I think that the best way to do that is to take control of the Foundation from him. So I've been quietly building resources for doing that. But I still needed some key pieces to pull it off. Until recently. I think I may have found one of those key pieces. Your father agrees.”

“My father? What key piece are you talking about?”

“A piece that can make tough decisions, see the big picture, and do what she needs to regardless of the personal cost.”

“She?” asked Jackson, though he feared he already knew the answer.

“April.” confirmed his mother.

  
  


“No, absolutely not. You can't use April as a pawn in your game of thrones. I won't let you.” He was sure his mother was deranged.

“Jackson, listen to me. You underestimate April like everyone else. That woman is tough, and smart, and not afraid of anything. She's just what we need to bring down Fletcher and make the Foundation into something good.”

“You're out of your frickin mind. Listen to yourself. You think you're Obi Wan Kenobi in revenge of the bunnies.”

“She is steel, Jackson, forged by fire, pain, and blood. Fletcher will never see her coming. And when we win, and we will win, we can put the Foundations resources to use providing healthcare to those who can't afford it, to refugees, to veterans. How do you think April would feel about that? How would she feel about curing diseases? How would she feel about ending Osteogenesis Imperfecta forever?”

Catherine knew that would have an impact.

Jackson's mind reeled. His mother wanted to enlist April to help her take control of the Harper Avery Foundation. It was a crazy idea. Wasn't it? 

“You just told me this Fletcher guy was dangerous. That he might try to hurt April. Harriet even.”

“All the more reason to do everything we can to remove him. Put him where he can't hurt anyone, ever again.”

Jackson turned the whole wild idea over in his head.

“Let's just say I go along with this crazy thing. What is your plan? What do you have in mind for April?”

“I want to start injecting her into the Foundation. I want my other allies to meet her. I want her to learn the backroom politics. It will be a slow process. We'll take our time. And if she makes the decision to walk away, she can. In the meantime, it will open up enormous opportunities for professional growth. And I'll make sure she is protected.”

Jackson suddenly realized that his mother was already executing her plan.

“Chicago. You're starting in Chicago. That's what that is about.”

“Yes, Chicago was to be the first step. But then Dylan Cooper needed surgery.”

“That's why you made sure April went with me. So she could meet my father too.” Jackson put two and two together.

“And she is the best surgeon at Grey Sloan.”

“And the best person to keep me focused even when my world was getting upended.”

“Yes, that too.”

Jackson knew he had to make a decision. If he was going shut this down, then he had to do it fast, before it went any farther. Otherwise...

“OK, I'll let you plot your plots and play your games, but we have to make sure April is protected, every step of the way.”

Catherine looked at Jackson in surprise. “We?”

“You don't think I'm going to let you use April against the Foundation without me there to help protect her. We're a package. A team. Me and her. Her and me.”

Catherine looked at her son in amazement. This part of the conversation had gone much better than she anticipated.

  
  


Jackson stopped on the porch and turned to face his mother, who stood holding the door.

“One last thing. In Montana, April and I ended up sharing a cabin.”

“Yes?”

“Whose idea was that exactly?”

Catherine smiled.

“And my father apparently arranged for the couch to be removed, ensuring we would have to share the bed.”

Catherine continued smiling. “A nice little touch on his part.”

“Uh-huh. And how exactly does that fit into your grand scheme?”

“Oh, it doesn't. That was just a little personal project.”

Jackson shook his head and turned to walk down the steps.

“And how did that arrangement work out, Jackson?” she called.

“Goodnight, mother.” he answered, without turning around.

  
  


April was in her pajamas, sitting at the breakfast bar, a half empty glass of water on the counter in front of her. She wondered how Jackson was doing with his mother. She also wondered who was making so much noise outside. Whoever it was had better shut up. If they woke Harriet she would really be mad.

Finally she had had enough and stomped to the front door, flinging it open, and stepping out onto the porch to give the culprit a piece of her mind.

She was more than a little surprised to find Jackson standing on the sidewalk at the base of the steps, calling her name. “April. April Kepner.”

“Jackson! What are you doing? If you wake up Harriet, I'll kill you.”

His response surprised her. A lot.

“I haven't been on a date since before Harriet, before I even knew about Harriet.” he was definitely using his outside voice.

“What?”

“I deleted that Tinder app from my phone too.”

“Jackson, what are you talking about?”

“I'm just not interested, I guess. Isn't that weird?”

April was really confused by the direction this was taking. “I guess.”

“You know what the best part of my day is?”

“Breakfast?” guessed April. What was he talking about?

“Picking up Harriet from daycare. You know why? Because its the one time of the day when I know with certainty that the three of us will be together.”

It was true. Even when they were on conflicting schedules and one of them would be bringing Harriet home by themselves, they made sure to meet at daycare.

“Jackson, what does this have to do with what happened last night?”

“April, my whole life I've believed my father didn't care enough about me to stick around. Now I know that he didn't even know I existed.” Jackson was trying to piece together his thoughts. “So when you went to Jordan I thought you abandoned me.”

April saw the lights come on next door. Oh boy. “Jackson, why are we having this conversation out here? Come in and we'll talk.”

I couldn't see it, April, I couldn't see that you needed to go. All I saw was another person I loved walking out the door.”

“Jackson, I didn't see you either. It was selfish. I should have been here for you. I'll regret it the rest of my life.”

“What if you don't have to?”

“What?” April was making her what-are-you-talking-about face.

“What if you don't have to regret it?”

He was spinning out. He wasn't making any sense.

“We had sex, Jackson. And now you're spinning out and everything is a mess and Harriet and I have to move and...” More lights were coming on. They lived in a very quiet neighborhood. Except tonight.

“I love you April.”

“Jackson, don't.”

Jackson turned up the volume a notch. “I love everything about you.”

“Stop it!” April was near tears now.

Jackson was practically yelling now. “Even the things I don't like, I love.”

“I love you too.” April yelled back. She lowered her voice again. “But love doesn't heal all wounds.” she said sadly. “We know that.”

Suddenly Jackson was right there with her. “No, it doesn't. But it does allow us to forgive the wounder.”

She couldn't give up the without one last attempt.

“It was just sex, Jackson.”

“It's never been just sex.” he answered.

April buried her face in his chest as his arms enveloped her. After a long moment, she looked up into his face. “Now what?”

“I don't know.” he answered honestly, “But whatever it is, we do it together.”

“Me and you.” April said.

“Me and you” Jackson answered.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Japril the Sequel Day! I hope you really enjoy the show tonight.  
> I hope I really enjoy the show tonight! I'm encouraged by what I've been hearing/reading.
> 
> Hopefully I didn't shortchange the story by rushing to get this done by today.  
> Thank you so much for reading.  
> I live for Comments so please let me know, Good, Meh, or "You really F'd this one up."


End file.
